Snap (NYSE:SNAP) Trading 6.3% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Shares of Snap jumped 6.3% to as high as $6.00 after Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded the stock from neutral to a Buy and set a $10 price target.
• Despite the upgrade, the analyst consensus remains a Hold with an average price target of $8.08 (one Strong Buy, six Buy, twenty Hold, three Sell).
• Insiders have been selling: CAO Rebecca Morrow sold 16,499 shares and Ajit Mohan sold 119,339 shares, with insiders offloading 2,565,573 shares worth about $13.33 million in the last quarter.

Shares of Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP - Get Free Report) traded up 6.3% during trading on Monday after Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a buy rating. Rothschild & Co Redburn now has a $10.00 price target on the stock. Snap traded as high as $6.00 and last traded at $6.0060. 6,823,893 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 53,543,313 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.65.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on SNAP. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $6.50 price target on shares of Snap in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $6.40 price target on shares of Snap in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Evercore reissued a "mixed" rating on shares of Snap in a report on Thursday, February 5th. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on Snap in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. They set a "strong sell" rating on the stock. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on Snap from $9.00 to $7.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $8.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Rebecca Morrow sold 16,499 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.70, for a total value of $77,545.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 466,682 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,193,405.40. This trade represents a 3.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ajit Mohan sold 119,339 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.70, for a total transaction of $560,893.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,158,477 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,244,841.90. This represents a 2.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 2,565,573 shares of company stock valued at $13,329,781.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Snap

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Snap by 92.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,293 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,581 shares during the period. Oak Harvest Investment Services purchased a new stake in shares of Snap in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Arax Advisory Partners lifted its position in shares of Snap by 220.0% in the 4th quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 3,309 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 2,275 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Snap in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Snap by 561.4% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,618 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 3,071 shares during the period. 47.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Snap Stock Performance

The company's 50-day moving average price is $4.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $6.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 3.56 and a current ratio of 3.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a PE ratio of -22.51 and a beta of 0.91.

Snap (NYSE:SNAP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.15 by ($0.12). Snap had a negative return on equity of 20.72% and a negative net margin of 7.76%.The company had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.01 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Snap Inc. will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Snap

Snap Inc is a camera and social media company best known for developing and operating Snapchat, a multimedia messaging application that allows users to send photos, videos and messages that disappear after being viewed. In addition to its core messaging service, Snap offers a suite of augmented reality (AR) tools, including custom Lenses and Filters, that enable users and third-party developers to create interactive and immersive experiences. The company also provides advertising solutions that allow brands to engage audiences through Snap Ads, Sponsored Lenses and Discover content on the platform.

Founded in 2011 by Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy, Snap has continually focused on innovation in camera technology and AR.

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